3D integration: chip-to-wafer bonding alignment 10x more accurate

An innovative magnetic sensor to help align chip-to-wafer bonds for 3D integrated circuits was recently developed and patented by a team of scientists at Irig.
When used in optimal conditions, the sensor is accurate to within 50 nm: ten times better than the 500 nm today’s optical solutions can achieve. The improvement could help substantially increase the interconnect densities in the stacks that make up 3D ICs.
A PhD candidate co-supervised with two other institutions* contributed to the development of this new sensor, which is made up of a magnetic reference layer and a two-state (parallel/antiparallel) readout layer. It is most accurate when the elements being bonded are less than one micron apart.
The research was part of an ERC Proof of Concept project called Magalign.

*University of Strasbourg, France and FHNW University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland

Contact: ricardo.sousa@cea.fr

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